ARLA/CLUSTER: Radioamadores Sul Africanos devem contribuir para a economia do conhecimento nesse pais

[João Costa > CT1FBF]

Radio amateurs must contribute to SA's knowledge economy

In his keynote address at the four RTA's, the South African Radio
League President said that Radio Amateurs must contribute to the
country's effort to build an knowledge economy.

He said that Research and Development (R&D) promotes the growth of
knowledge-intensive activity. There is a clear connection between R&D
intensity and competitiveness. One of the goals for South Africa is to
enhance the country's knowledge-generation capacity in order to
produce world-class research and turn some advanced findings into
innovative products and processes.

"I believe we can and must make a contribution. Amateur radio is
blessed with a large slice of the radio spectrum much larger than what
many believe the amateur radio service should have but balanced
against this is that radio amateurs have a history of pioneering new
developments and we need to continue with our passion to experiment
and develop.

Exposure to amateur radio has turned many young people to taking up
careers in the technology industry. Many have excelled and made major
contributions. I am reminded of Jack Kirby who received the Nobel
Prize in 2000 for his development of the integrated circuit.
Another Nobel Laureate, who developed his career from an interest in
amateur radio, is Joe Taylor, K1JT. He received the Nobel prize
jointly with Russell Hulse for Physics in 1993 for the discovery of a
new type of pulsar, a discovery that has opened up new possibilities
for the study of gravitation.

"You may now argue but how can I contribute?" Rassie said. " We are
not Joe Taylor! Yes but Joe Taylor was not what Joe Taylor is today.
It was his interest in new things, new ideas that made him what he is
today. Radio Amateurs experiment a lot but they have one major
problem, they do not share it by giving talks at club meetings, by
writing articles for Radio ZS or other professional publications."

"He outlined various interesting projects in which radio amateurs can
make a major contribution." You can down load the full text of his
presentation on www.sarl.org.za, select RTA in the left hand column.